Eurofirst slightly up as investors ignore oil rises

by Brian Turner

The FTSE Eurofirst 300 was up 0.4 percent to 1,150 on Thursday when investors appeared to ignore continuing high oil prices.

The technology sector was instrumental in the rise. German semiconductor group Infineon was up 2.4 percent to €7.98 on reports that the company was considering a spin-off for its memory chip division, although the report was later denied by Infineon’s chief executive. STMicroelectronics rose 1.5 percent to €13.60.

Ericsson, the Swedish telecommunications group, was up 3.2 percent to €26.20 as its chief executive said that it had no thought of selling its part of its joint venture in mobile phones with Sony.

Meanwhile EADS, Europe’s largest defense contractor, gained 2.8 percent on reports that it had gained the support of the US Congress for a contract worth $100 billion that it wants to win away from Boeing. The company has chosen a site in Alabama to built a plant to assemble military aircraft for the Pentagon should it win the contract.

In the automobile manufacturing sector, Porsche saw the value of its shares fall by 0.9 percent to €621.59 after having earlier hit a record high on a report that it will introduce a fourth model line.